BAGHDAD, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Reports are mixed on the state of Iraq's hydrocarbons law, with media reports it is advancing and analysts claiming it remains stuck on federalism arguments.
The New York Times reported Tuesday negotiators sent the law, vital to further development in the oil and natural gas sector (along with security), to the Iraqi Cabinet.
The hydrocarbons law would govern Iraq's oil and gas resources and dictate the amount and mechanism for sharing revenue with Iraqi people.
But it has been stuck in negotiations since last summer. At issue is whether the central or regional governments will have control over new contracts, what is the percentage for revenue sharing and what mechanism will redistribute that money.
The Kurdish Regional Government, which has been largely autonomous since 1991 and safer than the rest of Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, claims the constitution passed in 2005 gives regions more control.
The central government says it should be the authority to approve contracts. That position is backed by Sunnis with little oil and the most of the majority Shiites that would dominate the government.
The Cabinet must approve the law before it heads to the Iraqi Parliament for a final vote.
But a well-connected analyst told United Press International on condition of anonymity the Kurds and central government still have not agreed on the remaining crucial issues.
Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and possibly unknown amounts more after more thorough exploration takes place.
But that exploration requires safer conditions than those currently in war-torn Iraq and an investment law that would outline criteria for contracts.
